Hi - haven't been in the hearth room as frequently in a while but i do pop in here now and again - having a problem with my Lopi blower and I googled it and it brought me to the hearth room, to a thread I actually posted 5 years ago! Was going to post on it again, just that apparently we need to replace these blowers every 5 years, but anyway it's locked. Do threads time out after awhile and get locked? https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/blower-has-started-making-noise-lopi.118128/
Duration of threads (old one "locked" ? Lopi Blower issue
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I think the mods go through periodically and lock old threads. It might be an institutional thing. I don't see the need, and feel that it's a negative, but that's just me. Maybe others too, lol.
DuaeGuttae
Minister of Fire
Just a question about the blower: do you still have furry pets? I read your last thread, and it seemed that the first blower’s early demise was due to running full of dog hair. I’m wondering if something similar contributed here. We ran the blower on our Lopi Revere pretty much full time for more than five years, and it was going strong with no signs of trouble when we moved. We did vacuum it off when we cleaned around the stove, but we had no furry pets. (My house was plenty messy enough without them.) I do remember that it was a pain to remove and reinstall the blower for a more thorough cleaning, but I think we only did that once. We do also run some HEPA air purifiers in our house because of allergies so maybe that also helped keep it from pulling in as much dust. Our filters sure get dirty!
Yes - still lots of pets and fur and mess, so not too surprised it has a lifespan! I did google a bit more though and found that there is a company making aftermarket blowers, which are a little cheaper (maybe a lot cheaper by now, not sure) but they also claim to be better because the motors are actually serviceable, unlike the original equipment. http://www.fireplaceblowersonline.c...1750-wood-insert-blower-99000123-details.aspx
Or an even cheaper option is to buy the blower from them and replace it ourselves from this video, where they will provide customer service over the phone, or for another $50 plus shipping they will do it for you. Sounds pretty good to me!
We haven't removed the blower this time, I just unplugged it because it was making noise and smelled like burnt hair, so I'm going to guess maybe it "melted the wheel" like the guy talks about in the video? If we replace through these guys or one of their units I'll come back and let you all know how it works out!
Or an even cheaper option is to buy the blower from them and replace it ourselves from this video, where they will provide customer service over the phone, or for another $50 plus shipping they will do it for you. Sounds pretty good to me!
We haven't removed the blower this time, I just unplugged it because it was making noise and smelled like burnt hair, so I'm going to guess maybe it "melted the wheel" like the guy talks about in the video? If we replace through these guys or one of their units I'll come back and let you all know how it works out!
If you have some mechanical aptitude, take it apart and see what you find. You may not have to replace anything...
Yeah I think this may have happened, the burning hair smell and noise started after I clumsily tried to grab a little coal from the ash lip (that sits right on the blower) and throw it back in, I think I might have crushed a little piece of it or something that could have gotten sucked in there, not sure. To Woody Stover, yeah, I don't have much mechanical aptitude, but will have to take a look anyway! Thanks to those who answered and weighed in on this.
Yeah, understood - well we do vacuum around it and from the surface of the grate, but we don't have a raised hearth so it's right on the floor sucking air and everything else in. It's pretty involved to remove the blower from the stove, then remove the cover and get into it, - it's riveted on - so doesn't really lend itself to cleaning. And as mentioned in the old thread, you can't lubricate the motor.
The entire blower assembly comes off by removing 2-3/8” bolts. New units require you to remove the cover of the rheostat housing tonhain access to the bolts. Still no big deal.
Take it outside and blow compressed air through it, pretty simple.
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